Best Mattresses Sold Online (February 2019)

Affiliate Disclosure: I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase a mattress after clicking a referral link or using a coupon code on this site. That said, all content and opinions on this site are my own and are NOT affected by these payments.

The Best Online Mattresses

If you’re shopping for a mattress online, then you’ve come to the right place.

The Helix Nightfall is a 12” hybrid mattresses designed specifically for tall and plus-sized sleepers. It has five layers to boost support and a unique 2-layer cover to keep the mattress cool and fresh.

universal medium-firm mattress

10 years

100 nights

5-7 days

You weigh less than 200lbs. The mattress will feel too firm for you.

Any plus sized individual looking for an affordable mattress that has good support and is guaranteed to last long.

Best Mattress For Couples

Minimizing motion transfer means there will be fewer interruptions at night from a fidgety partner. Mattresses that use insulated coils & latex foamin their top layer do the best job of insulating against motion transfer.

Best Mattress For Athletes

Excellent heat transfer is important for active people, due to their higher metabolism. Features that help include gel tops, gel-infused foam and breathable, wickable fabric on the cover and on the top.

If you have a pair of mattresses you’d like to see me compare, leave me a message on our contact page.

How We Review A Mattress

My team and I have reviewed more than 30 online mattresses, so far.

We know all of the other mattress review sites quite well, and we are different in several ways.

Review sites often get a bad reputation because many are just promoting products for a fee. Some receive free mattresses in exchange for a positive review. Then, they are free sell those mattresses off.

This effectively turns the website into a pay-for-review business.

We are not one of those.

No One Pays Us For Reviews

To maintain our objectivity, we don’t work with retailers and manufacturers the way other review sites do. For example:

We usually don’t contact a manufacturer until after we’ve published their review. After we go to press, we ask them to check our facts but not our opinions.

We don’t sell access to you. We don’t accept payment for ad space, guest posts, paid email promotions or any other form of preferred access or “influencer marketing”.

Some of the links on this site contain a special code that tells a manufacturer when a reader jumps from our site to theirs.

If you click on an affiliate link on our site and buy a mattress from that manufacturer within a few days, then we’ll get a small portion of that sale – but usually only after your trial period ends and only if you don’t return the mattress.

That said, our decision to review a particular mattress has nothing to do with whether or not a manufacturer offers affiliate links.

Many of the mattresses we review have no affiliate program, in fact.

How I Select A Mattress To Review

Like you, I only want to sleep on the best.

But there are dozens and dozens of mattresses sold online, and I have but one husband to donate to science.

So, I only review the mattresses that interest me the most.

I look at existing reviews and ratings – especially verified owner reviews – before selecting a mattress to review.

It has to look like a winner before I’ll waste my time reviewing it.

I Work On a Team

Like every good website, I rely on team members, experts and partners to help me.

I work with fact-checkers, researchers, draft writers, web designers and graphics experts to make this site do what it does.

My Mattress Review Process

See My 5-Step Mattress Review Process

Here’s the 5-step process I follow to review a mattress on SleepDelivered.com:

First, I select a mattress to review. To do this, I monitor Google, major retailers and lots of websites. I look for new mattresses that seem interesting to me and have lots of happy customers.

I ask my researcher to research existing customer reviews for the mattress and to draft a document summarizing the facts about the mattress and the experiences of customers. This gives me a starting point to educate me on what to expect & what to focus on in my review.

Based on my experience and our research, I write my review & I rate the mattress.

I publish our review on SleepDelivered.com

I send our review to the manufacturer to fact-check it.

On my team, I focus on writing and editing our reviews.

I like to think that my reviews are the most thorough and most accurate mattress reviews online. I write my 10-minute mattress reviews like I’m writing a letter to my best friend, to tell them everything they could ever want to know about that mattress.

In every review and mattress comparison I try to cover everything you could want to know about each mattress: the company, the sleeping experience, how it compares with its closest alternatives – plus the features that matter most when buying a mattress online.

To keep things fair and balanced, I also scrub the internet for other people’s impressions.

On top of this, I hire a fact-checker (yes, a real job) to check my reviews periodically against the manufacturer’s website, to make sure we don’t miss any important changes. For example, Nest recently updated its Love Bed, and other mattresses change their materials & construction from time to time.

But to be honest, all I can share with you is whatI’ve learned andexperienced.

Your experience WILL differ.

That’s why…

I Consider Other Reviewers’ Opinions, Too

To give you the best overall picture of how a mattress performs for most people, I rely on more than my experience when assigning an overall score.

In fact, I have to do this if I want to be ‘fair and balanced’, to you.

That’s because most mattresses are sold in a variety of firmness levels, configurations and versions.

Like most mattress reviewers, I only test one comfort level and one version of a mattress, in my home.

I don’t test every possible combination. No review site does that, to my knowledge.

So, we research and factor-in what other reviewers have said about the mattress.

I sometimes adjust my overall rating of a mattress based on the general consensus of other reviewers.

Finally, the ratings and reviews on this site are updated periodically, whenever new information comes in from the manufacturer or we receive important input from other reviewers and our readers.

Scores may change. But never due to the influence or outrage from any manufacturer.

The Qualities of a Great Mattress

In order for a mattress to be considered “great”, it first and foremost needs to provide me with the proper support.

Proper ventilation also prevents the buildup of unnecessary moisture, which traps heat and can feed mildew and other bugs you don’t want in your mattress.

Finally, a great mattress doesn’t cost too much. Like you, I’m always looking for the lowest price in a certain category.

My Mattress Rating Criteria

My team and I assign every mattress an overall 5-star rating, from 1 star (unusable) to 5 stars (perfect every night).

To assign an overall rating, we consider the following features and criteria:

The Company Behind the Mattress

Social Commitment

Online Order Process

Price

Shipping, Delivery & Setup

Firmness & Comfort Choices

Technology & Materials

Mattress Construction

Cooling Performance

Motion Transfer

Sinkage

Edge Support

Off-Gassing

In-Home Trial

Returns & Refund Policy

Warranty

Continue reading to learn more about each of these criteria, and how it contributes to my overall 5-star quality rating.

1. The Company Behind the Mattress

All things equal, we’ll score an established brand higher than new startup, because:

Their products have been tested in the real world, longer

Their warranties have been tested, too

They likely have more cash on hand to weather market downturns, which will matter to you a lot if you ever need that warranty!

We also take into account the reputation of the company with its current customers.

2. Social Commitment

Another thing we look at is the company’s commitment to their community and to the environment.

Most mattress-in-a-box companies today have some sort of social program or work with charities to donate returned mattresses and/or provide new mattresses to their community. Some go beyond that, however, to donate a portion of their revenues to people in need.

In addition, we consider the company’s commitment to maintaining a safe and clean environment. We look at whether they use clean manufacturing processes, we look at the materials they use in their mattresses, and we look at whether they adhere to the latest environmental standards.

3. Online Order Process

It’s important to us that the company is easy to do business with. If their order process or related customer service isn’t top-notch, then we will take points off.

This is rarely the case with online mattress companies, today, except in a few instances where the website was down, prices/discounts didn’t match their marketing, and people were hard to get hold of when we needed them.

We really haven’t seen that many issues, so far.

4. Price

We believe our readers care as much about value-for-money as anything else, so this criteria carries a very heavy weighting in our 5-star scoring system.

We try to be as fair as possible by comparing a mattress against its closest rivals to determine “relative value”.

But straight-up price is the biggest factor.

5. Shipping, Delivery & Setup

This category carries a moderate weighting, but it can be important for some mattresses due to their weight / difficulty in setting up – and if shipping costs are extra.

Some of the questions we ask here include:

Did the company deliver on time, as promised?

Is there an option to arrange for help when setting up / unpacking the mattress, especially if it is heavy?

Do extra shipping charges apply? In what situations / geographies?

Can we change shipping location or date, after we order?

Will the company remove our old mattress? For what fee?

6. Firmness & Comfort Choices

This is more of a characteristic of a particular mattress than a comparison feature. So we don’t give it too much weight in our scores.

That said, it does matter if the company offers comfort choices that meet everyone’s needs.

And, it matters a LOT to me if the comfort level I ordered feels like it should – or doesn’t.

7. Technology & Materials

The materials and technology of a mattress can’t be separated from how well the mattress performs. Performance always trumps technology.

That said, when we consider value-for-money, the choice of materials and technology does come into play.

In general, we assign higher scores for mattresses that incorporate new, high-performance technologies that actually make a difference in cooling, support, comfort, motion control, bounce, etc.

Re-marketing a memory foam under a fancy new name won’t get points from us.

8. Mattress Construction

How a mattress is constructed literally defines its support, comfort and sleeping experience – and its useful life.

This is important – but not as important as the sleeping experience it delivers – so, it carries a medium weighting in our scoring system.

We look at the materials used, the number and function of different layers, and any unique technologies used that actually make a difference in performance.

In general, we rate thicker mattresses (>12”) higher – for two reasons:

a thicker mattress will usually last longer than a thin one; this is especially true for foam mattresses (because: physics)

thicker mattresses can accommodate more layers and more complex support systems that can be tweaked/engineered with more precision. This is probably why thicker mattresses usually sleep better, in our experience.

We also give credit for more complex layering – when it’s done with a purpose.

9. Cooling Performance

We’ll ding a mattress if it sleeps too hot or too cold, at night.

Most online mattresses we test don’t have a cooling performance problem, but a few have been flagged.

Now, I live in the Deep South (US), where it’s brutally hot 6-7 months of the year. And, my husband hates a hot mattress. So if a mattress sleeps hot, we WILL find out.

10. Motion Transfer

Motion transfer is important for anyone who sleeps with another creature, whether that happens to be a husband, a wife… or a dog.

A mattress gets high marks if no little-to-no motion is transferred from one point on the mattress to another. It gets a low score if all it takes is a cough to wake my husband.

11. Sinkage

Sinkage is a measure of how deeply your body sinks into a mattress when you lie on it or press on it.

The amount of sinkage you want in your mattress depends on the type of sleeper you are. If you sleep on your side, then a little more sinkage is preferable. If you sleep on your back, then you probably want less.

On this criteria, we’ll remove points if the sinkage of a mattress is excessive, if it doesn’t give at least an inch, or doesn’t match the company’s claims.

12. Edge Support

Edge Support is how well the mattress holds its position under pressure, along its edges.

No one wants a soft, overly-compliant edge on their bed, so we deduct points if a mattress folds under pressure too easily.

13. Smell / Off-Gassing

Most all-foam mattresses and mattresses made with foam layers will emit volatile organic compound (VOC) vapors when new. This process is called off-gassing.

These days, the gases emitted by foam aren’t toxic or dangerous. But the smell annoys some people.

The two questions we ask here include:

how noticeable and unpleasant is the “new mattress” smell? and,

how long does the smell last?

14. In-Home Trial

Most online mattress companies offer a free, no-risk in home trial lasting between 30 and 220 nights.

In truth, though, you shouldn’t ever need more than 30 to 60 days to try a mattress in your home.

For this reason, we don’t give this criteria that much weight.

If the return window falls within a 60-day window or if a company offers an extraordinarily long trial period that might change your mattress-owning strategy completely, then we’ll change its score.

15. Returns & Refunds

Related to the in-home trial is the mattress company’s refund and return policy. This category carries a heavy weighting in our scoring system, and for good reason.

Mattress return/refund policies differ in the conditions under which they will refund your purchase price and/or accept a returned mattress.

For example, some manufacturers will only provide a refund if the mattress isn’t abused or “used improperly”.

Others require that you provide the right sort of support/foundation under your mattress throughout your use of it.

Both of these situations can be hard to prove, if you are challenged on it. Not that we’ve heard that many return horror stories – but a few of our readers have complained.

Finally, while most companies refund your entire purchase price, a few of them also charge a restocking and/or pickup fee.

So make sure you read their policy completely.

16. Warranty

The quality of a company’s product warranty is the strongest sign a mattress company has faith in its own product, so we give it a lot of weight.

Most online mattress warranties last 10 years, but some companies offer 15, 20 or even 25-year warranties.

And, contrary to what you might think, the price of a mattress doesn’t necessarily correspond to its warranty length. Some inexpensive startups carry extremely long warranties.

So, shop carefully.

Of course, comparing warranties can be tricky. They usually differ in the types of damage they cover and whether the warranty is prorated (refund amount declines with time) or not (far better)

TL;DR: Read the fine print on the warranty before buying.

The Future of Mattress Shopping is Online

It appears that a lot of people are figuring out that taking advantage of a fully-refundable 100-night trial to sleep on a mattress in your home… is a heck of a lot better way to test a mattress, than sitting on it in a busy store.

In response to increasing demand, the number of quality affordable mattresses sold online is growing quickly.

Today, even older store-bought brands like TempurPedic (expensive!) and Sealy are selling mattresses online. We plan to review their new online mattresses, soon.

Learn More!

If the information above doesn’t solve your problem, then we offer a few more resources on this site that should help:

Mattress Comparisons & Top Picks: If you are trying to buy a specific type of mattress or have a unique need like back pain, then check out our Mattress Comparison Tables. In them, we list our top picks for different sleeping styles, needs and types of mattress you might be interested in.

Coupons: we’ve sourced special discount codes that will save you $100s on your purchase. You can email them to yourself or a friend, too.

Save BIG On Your Next Mattress Purchase

Learn More

Affiliate Disclosure: I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you purchase a mattress after clicking a referral link or using a coupon code on this site. That said, all content and opinions on this site are my own and are NOT affected by these payments.

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*Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.

This site participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

*Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc, or its affiliates.